Adventure I: House Clearing
by Na Hoku
Summary: NejiLee It's that time of the year again. Time to redecorate Lee's house. What will happen when Tenten, Gai and Neji help? Or will it just be another normal day...? Written by half of Na Hoku; R


Disclaimer- Due to a lack of money and connections to the Japanese manga world, Naruto does not belong to me.  
  
La/=/er- Well, this is the Neji/Lee one-shot that is set in the Without Life universe. That's why it's in the account of Na Hoku, Seito didn't write this with me. Anyways, this fic has an established Neji/Lee relationship. **And the only thing you need to know from the W/O Life universe is that Naruto has disappeared and they got together because of that.** Which explains the last part.  
  
What else...oh yeah, for those of you who actually read the title, you'll notice that it's going to be the first of many. It really will be. It's not just a title thing. So if you're one of the few Neji/Lee fan, remember to check out the stuff that's coming. And yes, it's supposed to say clearing and not cleaning.  
  
And for those of you who like SasuNaru, check out Without Life.  
  
One thing you have to remember though...**this is a pointless - but hopefully humorous - fic. I'm just adding to the very small collection of Neji/Lee fanfiction.**

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Adventure I: House Clearing --- The La/=/er 

They started in the living room.  
  
It was that time of the year, and it was that year. The year that Lee cleaned out absolutely everything in the house and bought new stuff. From chairs, to tables to curtains and even the dishes. That year, they decided to start in the living room.  
  
But besides that, this year was very special. It was special because it was the first time Neji would be there to help. Lee had only cleaned out his house twice since he was assigned onto a team. Both times, Tenten and Gai were there to help, but Neji was never there since he was always busy. Tenten said that the first time, Neji was just lying to get out of spending more time with the team. But even she agreed that the second time, Neji really was busy.  
  
Why would it matter, you ask. It's simple. By the second time, Neji and Lee had already gotten together as a couple. And as a boyfriend, it wouldn't be very nice to ditch Lee. However, that day Neji was truly busy, for a very important reason. But that's a story for another time. This story is about the third time Lee cleaned his house with his team. What made this even more different was that while everyone was there, both Tenten and Gai had to leave early. Only Neji was going to stay with him the whole day.  
  
So the day started normally enough. The last two times the house was cleaned, they started with the bedrooms; they wanted to carry all the bed frames out before they got tired. But there weren't many bed frames in the first place despite the three huge bedrooms. Without Lee's parents being there, he usually just slept on a futon. This year, they decided to start with the living room.  
  
The last time they cleaned out the house, they had moved in some _very_ heavy furniture in there, from bookcases to sofas and an entertainment center. So first, Lee and Gai moved the entertainment center, taking care of most of the actual electronics, since those were _never_ changed. Thankfully, Lee's front yard was a decent size, so leaving most of the stuff there before they moved it elsewhere was easy.  
  
The next step was the carry the sofas. At that point, a couple of hours had passed, since Gai and Lee had trouble carrying the entertainment center out. Tenten had somehow slept on the sofa throughout all the cries of, "Lee! Are you sure you want to give this away!? Reconsider Lee! Please! For your favorite teacher!" To which Lee adamantly replied that he absolutely _had_ to change the center. The thing about the center was that it made everything else in the house look bad.  
  
Meaning that it was _the_ most expensive center there was to buy. Gai pleaded with Lee last time to buy it, it didn't take much. After all, Gai_ is_ Lee's favorite teacher. Nevertheless, Lee continued with his tradition by replying, "No, absolutely not. I've told you, every two years, I clean out my house and give the old stuff to charity and secondhand stores so more people can buy good stuff cheaper. You knew I was going to do this two years ago Gai-sensei. Why didn't you buy it yourself?"  
  
Turning on his best sad puppy face, which made Neji grimace - he personally thought Lee did it better - Gai said, "It's because I don't have the money and I come over to your house a lot anyway."  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter, we still need to move it." And thus, the conversation ended, but not without more pleading following. All through it, Tenten slept and Neji looked curiously between Tenten and the two bowl haired males. He was rather amazed that she didn't even twitch through all the wailing. When it was time to carry the sofas, Gai and Lee hurriedly picked up the sofa she was on, wanting to make up for lost time, they never realized Tenten was on it. And she didn't realize that she was being moved until hours later.  
  
So within those few hours that Tenten spent outside sleeping, Gai and Lee worked at high speeds, leaving Neji with nothing to do except to watch them with amusement. What was so amusing, you ask? Since they were walking so fast, many, many times, they never realized that there was something in their way until they tripped. And when they tripped and fell, it was hard. Thankfully, most of the time, they caught themselves with their chakra before they fell and brought many heavy things falling onto themselves.  
  
Soon, they cleared out the living room, then the bedrooms, then the kitchen. Neji was rather bewildered by the order of their moving, but since he wasn't doing anything, he wasn't about to say anything. It was hard to tell what would happen if he alerted them to his presence, but he had a feeling it would involve pleading and enthusiastic attempts to get him to move from the windowsill he was sitting on.  
  
But sadly, the time came for the shopping to occur. That was a whole 'nother adventure. After shopping for new everythings, Tenten and Gai were to leave Neji and Lee alone to decorate the house themselves. It was tradition to finish within a day, so they had a lot to do.  
  
The first thing they went shopping for was a new entertainment center. They went to the shopping bazaar and entered the only electronics and related things store there was. When they entered, Gai started to examine all the centers available. Leaving Gai to his own devices, Tenten dragged Lee and Neji to the decorating store...thing. In protest of letting her sleep outside for hours, she first dragged them over to the section with the most pink and purple. And this is where our story truly begins.  
  
"So what do you guys think? This pink is nice, but then this one is softer. Or how about lavender? I think this one has more red in it, what do you guys think?" Tenten said all of this with a mischievous - and sadistic - glint in her eye. While Neji remained unfazed - although we all know he's flinching inside - Lee cried out in joy.  
  
"Tenten! You're so smart! I was thinking of doing the house in shades of red. Pink is nice, but don't you think this light lavender is so pretty?!"  
  
Silence reigned that area for several minutes. Neji, giving up and letting his eyes widen, opened his mouth to speak. Unfortunately, what he was about to say, we would never know, for at that time, Lee decided to laugh. He laughed hysterically, clutching his stomach, close to rolling around on the floor.  
  
Gasping, he said, "Oh my gawd, you guys should've seen your faces. you guys actually thought I meant what I said. This is so..." he trailed off, breaking off into giggles.  
  
Giggles? Yes, giggles. And Neji looked rather insulted, one would wonder why. After all, he only got tricked by his boyfriend of 3 years and close friend of 5. But after thinking it through, he suppressed a shiver, having fully imagined what it would be like to have a boyfriend whose house was pink.  
  
Meanwhile, Tenten pouted; she had her trick ruined because Lee decided to trick her back. Sighing, she succumbed to the persona that was Lee and decided to laugh at Neji. His expression was priceless. To anyone else, they would've only seen a small reaction, but to Lee and Tenten, it screamed, "Somebody _please_ tell me he's joking!" Of course, in the end Lee was, but that's not the point. It was funny.  
  
They moved on through the store, picking out curtains (light blue, with a slightly darker blue pattern of leaves), tablecloths, washcloths, dishes, cups, bathroom...stuff and interestingly enough, they picked out the chairs and tables. Neji was surprised to see furniture in a decorating store, but apparently it had always been like that, since Lee and Tenten went ahead and ordered them.  
  
Suddenly, they heard a loud cry of excitement. Having been through this before, the two knew that Gai picked out a center, and walked to the store while Neji only followed with a confused expression.  
  
"Gai-sensei! What did you pick out this time?"  
  
Walking over to their teacher, Lee peered over his shoulder only to see a rather...weird looking center. There was normal space for the TV, VCR, DVD, and radio. But there were also...things sticking out. Out of one place, there seemed to be numerous kunai tips; opening the door led to the discovery that there were actual kunai. In another place, there seemed to be a slot that would've sat a samurai sword perfectly. The only weird thing about the slot was that it was built into the side of the center. The color design ranged from black to red. Red from the splattered spots of the color all around the center.  
  
Now, normally, Lee would've just went along with what ever his teacher picked, but this was just not right. It was supposed to be an entertainment center, not a shrine to weapons! Walking closer, Neji sniffed slightly at the center and with a raised eyebrow he said, "Did you know that the red coloring is real blood?"  
  
With a scandalized gasp, Lee turned to Gai and seemed ready to slap him. Yes, slap, not punch. "How could you!? You know that this is supposed to hold my television set! I refuse to put my beloved electronics in there. Pick something else."  
  
At that point, Gai seemed to be wondering whether he should pull out the "But I'm your favorite teacher and I've got a blazing smile" card. With a bit of an internal debate - and seeing Lee reach into his kunai pouch - he cleared his throat and said, "Well, of course Lee! I know how much your set means to you. If you don't like this, we'll pick something else!" Lee fully reached into his kunai pouch and came out with a...nail filer?! The group stared at him weirdly. Lee cocked his head in confusion and reached into the pouch again. He came up with a nail clipper, nail polish, a nail buffer and any other thing that had to do with nails.  
  
"Wha...?" Lee looked at the items in confusion before a nervous chuckle was heard.  
  
"Um...sorry about that, that's my pouch." Tenten quickly snatched it away and pressed the other one she held into Lee's hand.  
  
"Since when did you care about your nails?!" Lee cried out.  
  
"Since now." Tenten said with a final tone.  
  
With that, the group meandered off to pick another center. With some debating, they ended up picking a smaller version of the last center Lee had.  
  
Moving on! They went to a bed and baths store and there they picked out a few of the finer futons and covers they had. Soon after they left the store, they peeked into the bags and noticed that there was a theme going on. There was a lot of black, blue, and white. Both Tenten and Lee snapped their heads over to Neji. Somehow, someway, he managed to maneuver them into buying these dark colors. Neji simply glanced at them with a blank face- a too blank face. After a few moments, Lee began to beam. His way of thinking went like this: 'Since Neji put so much effort into manipulating us into buying these colors, then that must mean he's going start spending a lot of time with me!"  
  
Now this is not to say they don't spend time together, they're on the same team, they have to spend time together! But in Lee's mind, it wasn't enough, he was the romantic kind of guy, which everyone could see back when he was chasing after Sakura. Just because he ended up getting together with Neji, didn't mean he couldn't still be a romantic.  
  
Right at that moment, an alarm rang out. The team looked at each other, startled. They were having so much fun, they were so relaxed, that they nearly forgot about the war going on outside their village. Just because their village still went through their normal routine, it didn't mean that they weren't involved in the war. Realizing that their shopping was nearly done anyway, (Tenten had went off to buy ornaments when they were looking for another center) the four of them rushed to Lee's house, knowing there was nothing they can do. Not unless someone called for them.  
  
By the time they reached the house, most of the big things they couldn't carry had arrived. The things already out on the lawn were carried away to their scheduled destinations. The only thing left was to carry them inside. As the sun set, all the furniture and things were set in the rooms they belonged in. Thankfully, halfway through, a second alarm rang out, one that indicated to the village that whatever caused the first alarm was now under control. The four relaxed, but the thought of the war still lurked in the backs of their minds.  
  
When all the things were brought in, Tenten and Gai bid farewell to the two boys. Standing at the doorway, the two looked at each other, simply reaching into the others soul by the opening of their eyes.  
  
Suddenly Lee said, "Come on! We have to paint the living room!"  
  
Resisting the urge to groan, he had to carry most of the stuff this time, Neji stepped into the house and closed the door. Walking to the living room, he found that Lee had, within those few scant minutes, spread cloth and newspapers on the floors and held paint cans and brushes ready. Rolling his eyes at Lee's enthusiasm, Neji reached out and took the brushes. He silently declared the right wall his and began to paint in slow steady strokes.  
  
On the other side of the room, Lee strained to keep his arm steady. He was really excited, it was to be the first time that he painted his walls blue. It was never blue before. What made it all even better was that his boyfriend was there with him and he had picked out the color too! Needless to say, in Lee's eyes, they were all reasons to be ecstatic.  
  
Soon, the two gravitated towards the back of the room. Lee, in his excitement, flung out his arm, right when he was facing Neji. The arm that held the dripping paint brush shot towards Neji's direction. The dripping, wet, dark blue paint brush was flung in Neji's direction. If you still haven't got it by now, it means that there were now splatters of blue paint all over Neji.  
  
"Um...oops?" Lee chucked nervously as Neji slowly turned around.  
  
"Lee?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Please do not tell me that you just flung your wet blue paintbrush towards my white shirt."  
  
"Er...I won't tell you then."  
  
Neji fully turned and stalked towards Lee.  
  
"Haha...Neji? Neji? You're...you're not mad, are you? It was an accident! I swear! I didn't mean it!"  
  
Neji reached out a hand and Lee flinched, the only thoughts running through his head all said something along the lines of _'Neji's gonna kill me. I'm too young to die!'_ Neji drew his hand even closer only to swipe it across Lee's forehead and then swiftly brushing his other hand across Lee's shirt. The other hand...that held a paintbrush, also dripping wet. Of course, Lee was too distracted to realize that he now had a blue streak across his forehead too.  
  
Lee suppressed the girly scream he just _knew _was about to come out, but a tiny squeak peeped out. "Neji! That's not fair, I didn't do it on purpose!"  
  
"Do I look like I care?" Obviously he did not, for he held an amused look on his face.  
  
Lee pouted but then brightened with an idea. Before Neji could ask, he found the answer to his unspoken question. Lee had reached out to drag his brush all over Neji's shirt.  
  
A moment of silence...  
  
POUNCE  
  
"Haha! Stop! Hahahaha! Don'--stop it! =gasp= St-hahahaha-op"  
  
In a move that would've surprised many, Neji leapt onto Lee, causing him to fall onto the floor. After a few wipes of the brush, he reached out with both his hands and proceeded to run his hands down Lee's side. Apparently, Lee was _extremely _ticklish. Then Lee started to retaliate, not running his hands down Neji's side - he knew Neji wasn't ticklish there - but around his neck and down near his ankles.  
  
Smothering his own chuckles, Neji continued his attack. They continued to roll around, each trying to tickle the other until they ended up hitting the wall. They paused for a breath, ending up in a position of Lee lying on top of Neji. They started to breathe harshly, their faces mere inches apart.  
  
"Do you think this is the reason why we got together?" Lee spoke suddenly with a serious one and a contemplative look.  
  
"What do you mean?" A bit tired, Neji was only able to look at the one he held so close.  
  
"I mean...did you ever notice that even though we never spoke to each other much, we still knew everything about each other? Even when we were just friends. Even while I was chasing after Sakura. We were close without seeming to be."  
  
"That's because you were different. You smiled and you meant it. You never gave up and you were strong. You laughed and you cried. You talked, most importantly, you spoke to me. You were normal and yet at the same time you were completely different. We got together because I think...this was something was meant to be. This was something we couldn't stop. Because..."  
  
"Because we _knew_ each other, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
Lee smiled down at Neji before lying his head down on Neji's chest. To most, their conversation would've made little sense, but to them, it reassured them of all they needed to know.  
  
"Neji?"  
  
"Hmm?" He gave a lethargic reply, almost falling asleep with the comfortable weight on him.  
  
"Do you think...do you think the war will ever end? And if it does, do you think we'll still be together? I mean, the only reason we got together was because Naruto left. What happens when the war is over and we're fine again? What happens..."  
  
"Shh. The war will end, that you do not need to worry about. And as for us...only time will tell. But I can say that I will do what I can to stay with you. Because you are my precious person."  
  
Owari

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La/=/er- I realize this wasn't the best of fics. Nor the funniest...but I tried! And this is actually the first 3rd POV one-shot I did so I had to adjust.  
  
**Tell me what you thought.** You know, how were the characters, how was the story. Or just tell me whether you liked it or not. That works. And while I always except harsh criticism, I do not like prejudiced reviews, in other words homophobic reviews that go "That's nasty" but if it's "I don't think it'll ever happen, keep dreaming" that's not so bad.  
  
Alright, you can go do whatever you want now. Hopefully, it's reviewing.

7/20/04 4:34:25 p.m. to 7/20/04 7:57:04 p.m. (Or something like that...)


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